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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, December 2, 2011 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 --Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: C Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member A THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association S Suburban Newspapers of America o Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Priceless lessons Hands-on learning is great for both educator and student. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the RIDE 101 classroom organized by Halton Regional Police. As in past years, the police have partnered with students, businesses and community organizations to offer this unique program designed to show young drivers firsthand the consequences of drinking and driving. RIDE 101 officially kicked off in Oakville last week and will be in Burlington at Nelson High School on Dec. 6. Students get an opportunity to try out roadside breathalyzers and are put through simulated sobriety tests in a fun, but informative format. In the evening, the teens are invited to assist police officers in speaking to drivers during an actual RIDE spotcheck. In addition, they distribute Think of Me cards -- hand-drawn and coloured by Grades 4, 5 and 6 students that reflect the child's thoughts on drinking and driving. It's too bad people still need to be reminded -- constantly -- not to get behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking. Knowing the dangers that exist with drunk driving, one can only shake their head and wonder what the police have to do to get their message heard. What do youngsters have to do to ensure no more tears are shed thanks to the actions of a drunk driver? The local detachment of the OPP (Burlington) kicked off its Festive Ride campaign last Saturday and three people were charged with impaired driving, another three with having open liquor in a vehicle, two with driving while suspended and one person with driving without a licence. Two drivers had their licence suspended for three days. You can't legislate common sense, but you can throw the proverbial book at drivers who still believe it is acceptable to have one for the road. Losing your licence, being fined and spending time behind bars are nothing compared to wiping out an innocent life. From now to Dec. 31, the public can help support Oakville-based MADD Canada by making a donation at any local LCBO store to the LCBO's annual Spirit of f Giving campaign, which supports Ontario's four sick children's hospitals, the Children's Health Foundation and MADD Canada. Funds raised for MADD Canada support its School Assembly Program, which educates students about the risks of impaired driving. The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Letter to the editor Arguing against crime bill On Friday Nov. 25, Oakville MP Terence Young met with me to discuss the Omnibus Crime Bill: Bill C-10, the Safer Streets and Communities Act. On one fundamental point, Mr. Young and I agreed: we want a safer community for our children in which dangerous, violent offenders are locked up. We did not agree about the potential C-10 has for creating that safer Canada. Nor did we agree on the potential costs of the bill to taxpayers. Mr. Young's Mr Youngs letter to o The Oakville Beaver dated Nov. 24, clearly outlined the objective of the bill: to elevate victim's rights by ensuring more offenders are subjected to mandatory minimum sentences (MMS). He also cited some statistics about certain increased crime rates in Canada since the '60s. But the facts are that, "In 2010, police-reported crime in Canada continued on its downward trend. Both the volume and severity of crime fell from the previous year, down five per cent and six per cent, respectively." (Statistics Canada, July 2010) So it is unclear why the government feels the urgent need to change course in our approach to criminal justice, particularly when the Canada Bar Association (with its membership of 37,000 lawyers across Canada) and many other criminal justice and legal experts are warning that this approach is a very expensive mistake that will not result in safer communities. When Mr. Young and I met, he was unable to provide any empirical evidence to indicate this bill follows proven methods to deal with or prevent crime in an effective, cost-efficient manner. I asked if Mr. Young was concerned that states such as Texas tried this same MMS approach and found it ineffective and expensive. He noted Texas is very different from Canada because they See Ensuring page 11 Letters to the editor The Oakville Beaver r welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver r reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Take a moment to be civil Sadly my husband and I attended a funeral recently for our neighbour and friend. Upon leaving the church, the procession began making its way to the cemetery. All of the cars in the procession bore a funeral sign. We were shocked and dismayed as other traffic began cutting in and out of the procession. Have we as a society forgotten or just abandoned common courtesy and respect? This behaviour is rampant in our busy, self-absorbed society. Please take a moment -- hold a door open, don't race in fear of not being first in line, seniors you do not have the right to push others aside just because you're a senior. Texters look where you are going. Drivers, does it make you happy to race past so that you can be the first to stop at the next traffic light -- really? Yes, this is a rant, I think long overdue. Joan Clodd, Oakville BY STEVE NEASE neasecartoons@gmail.com Pud